Past Promises
by SalamandaLove
Summary: Lucy met Sting at a young age, they where great friends until he left... Can she keep her promise to him?


**Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes…**

**So, I realised that I made a **_**HUGE**_** mistake, Lucy's mother died in the year X777… the same year the dragons left and Rogue and Sting killed theirs and also the ages are most likely wrong… Uhhh hehe don't mind that please, just… focus on the story ^^**

**This also took me FOREVER to write… I'm so proud of it and now my fingers hurt…**

**Past Promises**

Lucy sighed.

She was bored beyond comparison. She had done all her school work, her eight pages of homework, her maids where busy, her father was busy, she had filled all her sketch books and note books, it was still day time so the stars weren't out yet and worst of all, she had exhausted her magic power for the day so she couldn't summon Cancer or Aquarius to talk to.

"I'm _booooooorred_," she whined to her little doll that she kept with her always after her mother had died. (**I know this doesn't happen in the anime but just go with it**) The doll stared back through unblinking blue eyes, the small smile on her face brought Lucy to smile back.

"I know! Let's go ask father if we can go to the library," Lucy grinned excitedly and hopped of the bed, taking hold of Michelle's hand, she began to walk through the huge house towards her father's study. "I haven't been to the library since mother died," she suddenly whispered, yet her voice echoed throughout the empty hall way.

The little blonde girl didn't say another word until she reached her father's study; she hesitated slightly and after sending a reassuring look to her doll, knocked twice before pushing the heavy door open.

"Father?" she murmured, standing just inside the room, her hands behind her back and her hand clenched around Michelle's arm.

The blonde man didn't even look up at his daughter, only grunted and continued to scrawl over pieces of paper, a heavy frown dominant on his face. "Um, papa, would it be ok if I were to go into the library? To read some books…"

"As long as you don't ruin anything, or take any books out from there," he grunted without taking his eyes of his work. Lucy smiled slightly and mumbled a small thanks.

"Lucy," she jerked back, thinking he was going to say something nice to her such as: _be careful, _or _take one of the maids with you, _or even… _I love you_…

"Don't break anything," he told her, then returned his attention to his work. Really, Lucy shouldn't have been surprised, it was typical for him to say something like that, but it still didn't stop that ache in her heart, that he couldn't spare her the time of day to even have a decent conversation with her.

Lucy mumbled her good byes, and then left his study, hurrying down the halls, at least she could get herself lost in the many, many books that her father had in his library.

Lucy giggled lightly and pushed open the doors to her favourite room, even though she hadn't been in for years. Immediately the smell of parchment and books surrounded her, it was her second most favourite smell in the world, her first was stars, yet she could not describe how they smelt, but she could say that it was the smell when Cancer and Aquarius came through their gates from the spirit world.

Lucy danced around for few minutes, giggling quietly to herself; she had completely forgotten how great it felt to be in here. The memories of spending hours at a time, sitting on her mother's lap in the single armchair while she read to her, all came flooding back like someone had opened the flood gates.

She grabbed Michelle's hands and swung her around in a circle, the dolls legs flying out behind her due to the motion.

Shortly after, she felt dizzy and fell backwards giggling to herself, holding Michelle tightly against her chest as she enjoyed the sight of the towering book shelves stacked tightly with books all around her.

She breathed in deeply and closed her eyes; for once the quiet was nice, peaceful, until a childish giggle broke through the silence. Lucy thought nothing of it, until it sunk in that everyone in the mansion was busy and there were no other children here other than herself and Michelle, and Michelle was a doll.

Lucy bolted upright, her head swinging around till she spotted a small blonde boy sitting in her _mother's_ chair. His sky blue eyes sparkled with amusement and curiosity as he eyed Lucy with the greatest of interest.

"Hey Blondie!" the boy grinned; he had an odd grin, toothy and his canines where lengthened more than a usual person's, something about it made Lucy want to smile back.

Lucy didn't know how to reply to him, never before had seen really seen another child, and never at all had one ever really smiled at her. Yet the fact that he was sitting in her _mother's_ chair, made her want to scream and cry, she raced at him and smacked his arm.

"Get off, get off!" she shrieked, pounding against his chest with her little fists. "Off, off, off!"

"O-oi Blondie!" he cried, grasping her wrists and pushing her away, "That hurts."

"Get of mama's chair!" she cried, tears in her eyes as she tried to push against his restraining wrists, but the small, skinny boy was stronger than he looked.

"Mama? So _that's_ why this chair smells so good!" he grinned again, acting like the girl wasn't putting everything into trying to hit him.

Lucy paused in trying to hit the stranger and sniffed, pulling away from his restraining hands and whipped away her tears, "W-What?"

"Your mama smells really, really good," he enthused, clapping his hands together in his excitement.

"H-How do you know she s-smells good?" she sniffed again, falling back and sitting cross-legged on the comfy chair next to him, the boy calmed down enough to settle beside her grasping her wrist again.

"I have a great sense of smell, for example, I can smell your tears, and I can tell exactly how many people are in this huge house of yours… but I can't smell your actual mother, where is she?" he asked, after boosting about his superior sense of smell.

Lucy bit her lip, talk of her mother was banned in the Heartfilia Estate, especially when her father was around, so talking about her for what was really the first time since she had died, made her want to cry again. "Mama's dead," Lucy wailed, and did indeed, burst into a fresh set of tears.

The blonde boy looked startled as Lucy clung to him crying into his chest and crying loudly, ragged sobs raking through her small form. The boy was not stupid, he may not have experienced what Lucy had, but he knew enough that from the way the girl was crying, she had not spoken about her mother for a _long_ time.

After Lucy finally calmed down and stopped snotting and crying all over the boys shirt, she smiled apologetically, and then the real question dawned on her, "What are you doing in my house?!" she all but shouted, and in the back of her mind a voice questioned why no one had come to see what all the commotion had been about due to all the noise she had made.

"Oh, I've been coming here for ages," he stated, as if it meant nothing. Lucy stared at him, mouth hanging open slightly and suddenly she screamed.

"Ah! Shut up!" the boy cried, clutching his ears as the girl screeched into his ear. The cause of her screaming had people running down the hall in a panic, worry for what had become of their beloved master.

Lucy quickly shut up and sent a scowl at the boy for his rude words, then shoved him off the side of the armchair just as the doors flew open to reveal a dark purple haired old maid as well as several other younger workers.

"Miss Lucy-sama!" Spetto cried, as she ran to the girl's side, grasping her and checking her over, not leaving a single bit of her un-checked. "Are you ok?"

"Yes," the girl chirped, smiling up at her concerned maid, "I just thought I had lost my keys and Michelle," the little blonde girl covered up smoothly, while patting her keys that where in her pocket and then pointing at the doll on the floor in the middle of the library.

"Miss Lucy you had us worried," Spetto sighed and reached out to grasp her hand firmly to pat it.

"I'm sorry," she said, bowing her head in apology, glancing up at her old maid through her lashes. Spetto nodded, and then told her to call if she needed anything before leaving with the other workers following behind. Lucy watched as the door closed behind the maids, before grinning and looking down over the arm of the chair the other side to see the blonde boy sprawled out with a frown on his face.

"What the hell?" he snored, very disgruntled, his sky blue eyes shining with indignation.

"Sorry," Lucy offered, leaning over to offer him her hand, which he took to get back up again, and climb back onto the armchair next to Lucy.

"My names Sting, by the way, Sting Eucliffe," he hold her, his toothy grin once again appearing, and even though it was Lucy's second time seeing it, she had fallen in love with it.

"Lucy," she mumbled, suddenly shy, her cheeks going a delicate pink.

"Lucy…" he looked at her pointedly, waiting to hear her fall name.

"Heartfilia! I'm… Lucy Heartfilia," she scolded herself for acting so foolishly and smiled politely at him.

"Cool, so if you live here, how comes I've never seen you in here before?" he asked, and as he spoke, Lucy took a moment to admire him, how bright his eyes where, and how they stood out against his blonde hair that was a shade or two darker than hers.

"Um, I just never really come in here… but how have you been getting into my house without anyone noticing?"

"Ah, come on I'll show you!" he yelped excitedly, and then grabbed her hand and ran for the door, just as they were about to leave, Lucy gasped and ran back into the library, leaving Sting standing by the door looking confused.

As Lucy re-joined him outside the library, she showed him the doll, "I forgot Michelle!" she smiled, then retook his hand and waited for him to lead the way.

He stared at her for a moment, then looked down at their linked hands, frozen for a minute, then his signature grin split across his face and he raced down the hall, turning his face away from her, so she missed the blush that spread across his cheeks.

"Whatever you say Blondie," he laughed as they ran down the long, empty hall way.

Lucy couldn't help but notice how comfortable he seemed and how well Sting seemed to know the lay out of her house, she would have to say it seemed that he knew more than she did.

Soon they came to a stop outside the kitchen door, and Lucy looked questioningly at her new friend. "Why are we here? Are you hungry?"

"Don't be silly, this is how I get in," he stated, and then pushed open the door to the large kitchen. Cooks where bustling about, sorting out food that she presumed was for her and fathers dinner, it did smell good.

"Come on this way," he whispered, yanking her arm rather roughly and pulling her into the shadows between two rows of counters. Slowly they made their way down; making sure to keep their heads lowered to no one would spot their blonde hair.

As they passed a platter of chocolate brownies, Sting paused and like an adder quickly nicked two brownies off the silver plate, he handed one to Lucy who was staring at him in shock as he stuffed his own treat into his mouth, Lucy nibbled hers, while Sting rolled his eyes and shoved it into her mouth.

She bit back a cry of shock and managed to swallow the delicious chocolaty treat, '_thanks_' she mouthed, he nodded and lead her onwards, until they reached a sink that was unattended. Sting opened the cupboard under the sink and gestured for her to enter; she looked at him like he was a bonkers.

"Quick," he hissed, he could hear the sound of approaching footsteps, even though Lucy couldn't and pushed her into the cupboard, Sting followed after and pulled the doors shut behind him. The two children where cramped tightly into the cupboard and Sting made the quiet motion by putting his index figure to his lips, and then pointed towards the back, where the wall should have been.

Instead, Lucy could feel a slight breeze, and after her eyes adjusted she could see that there was a hole in the wall.

Ever so slowly, Sting shuffled forwards, Lucy watched until he disappeared through the hole. The blonde girl sat staring for a minute, until curiosity overcame her and she followed him.

It was extremely dark and cramped in the tunnel, and she could just about make out the sound of movement ahead of her, which was obviously Sting because there would be no one else in front of her.

After what Lucy would later describe as _hours _(in fact it had only been five minutes), the young girl finally spoke up, she was cramped, tired and even though she wouldn't admit it, scared of the dark.

"Sting," she whispered. No reply. "Sting," she called again, slightly louder. Still no reply. "_Stiiinnnnggg_," Lucy hissed through gritted teeth as loudly as she dared.

"_Blooonnndiiiie_," Sting mimicked, and Lucy could swear she could practically hear the smirk in his voice as he mocked her.

"Stop mocking me!" she whined, then as she next placed her hand down she felt something stab into her palm and it cause her a sting of pain, "Fudge it," she muttered under her breath.

"What is it?" Sting called out worriedly and halted, this then caused Lucy to crash into him and they lay sprawled out on the dirty floor. "Damn it, watch where you're going," he cursed.

"How can I watch where I'm going if I can't see?" Lucy wailed, and then stopped when she remembered where they were, "Sorry," she mumbled.

Sting looked back at her, a sympathetic look coming over his features but due to the darkness Lucy couldn't see. "It's ok Blondie, now what happened?"

"I hurt my hand, I think I put it down on a rock," she bit back a whimper, not wanting to sound weak; after all, it had only been a rock.

Sting sighed, and somehow, Lucy will never work out how, he managed to turn himself around in the cramped tunnel, "Let me see," he commanded, and once again Lucy didn't question how he could see in this darkness, she figured it had something to do with how his nose was extra good as well.

Lucy was about to ask what he was doing, when the question was swallowed back as he grasped a hold of her wrist firmly and licked her wounded palm. It was a gentle lapping, like how a cat would drink water, he made sure to smother her hand in saliva and Lucy found that it didn't sting like she expected it to, like if she was to run it under cold water.

"There all better," Sting grinned at her in the dark, and whipped his mouth using the back of his hand. Lucy brought her hand to her chest and pouted.

"You could get sick, my hand was dirty," she whined, worried for her new found friend.

"Don't worry about me, I won't get sick from something as petty as a dirty hand, now come on!" he once again turned around and continued to crawl down the tunnel.

Lucy sighed and realised she had no choice but to follow him, she couldn't turn around in the tunnel even if she was smaller than Sting, she just wouldn't be able to do it, and she had nothing else to do anyway she was bored back in the mansion.

Finally, after what seemed like years (if you asked Lucy), daylight could be seen, Lucy gasped in happiness, never before had she been so happy to see the light of day. With a mutter for Sting to move faster, she hurried after him and at last they burst out, rolling on the lush green grass of the gardens.

"Ah, feels so good!" Lucy cried, rolling around looking much like a puppy, she had a grin on her face as she stretched her arms and legs, and didn't seem to care that her dress was covered in dirt.

Sting couldn't help the laugh that escaped him as he watched her, finding the word _cute_ pop into his mind. Lucy heard his laugh and stopped, scowling at him. "Don't laugh at _meeee_," she pouted.

"_Whhhaaat_," Sting smirked, "I'm not laughing," he stated, sarcasm dripping from his words, he crouched down, looking like a cat ready to spring.

Lucy, lay still, stiffening her muscles ready to roll to the side in case the boy decided to attack. Yet no matter how ready Lucy was, Sting was just too fast, he launched himself at her, trapping her below his body.

"Where's that's pretty little smile eh Blondie?" Sting taunted, grabbing her wrists so she couldn't retaliate, he leered at her lips drawing back over his fangs in a sinister grin.

Lucy continued to pout at him, refusing to grant him the pleasure of her smile. Sting frowned, then an idea crossed his mind and he released her wrists and instead busied his hands with tickling her. His fingers danced skilfully along her sides and her stomach.

Lucy squealed and thrashed underneath him, kicking her legs but they didn't come in contact with anything other than the ground, she tried to use her hands, but every time she lifted her arms he would tickle her even more ruthlessly.

"There it is!" Sting cooed in a babyish manner, while continuing to tickle. Lucy couldn't wipe the smile off her face, which annoyed her because it meant Sting won.

"S-Sting," Lucy gasped, tears in her eyes as she fought for breath, "S-Stop, p-p-please," she managed to choke out before bursting into another fit of giggles.

Sting finally stopped, sitting up straighter but staying on top of her to keep her trapped, he had an arrogant smirk on his face, obviously proud of the fact that he had drawn a smile from her. "Do you surrender Blondie?" he smirked.

Lucy struggled to breathe as she once again fell into another fit of high pitched laughter, even though he wasn't touching her anymore.

Sting frowned as he watched her, unsure on what to do as he watched her struggle to calm down. "S-Sorry, y-you win," she rasped, and the thought suddenly struck her that she hadn't had this much fun and she hadn't laughed this hard since her mother had died.

The thought was enough to quieten her down and she lay beneath him breathing quietly, watching him carefully, as his blue eyes watched her curiously. "You ok?" he asked, he could see brief sadness flicker in her eyes but didn't want to pry on this girl that was still pretty much still a stranger.

"Yeah," she pushed away the memory and smiled, then took his distraction to her advantage and pushed him off of her, rolling over and jumping to her feet while Sting was still shocked on the grass. "Slow poke," she stuck her tongue out at him in a mocking gesture.

"Why you," Sting grunted, getting to his feet, but Lucy was already dashing away, years of learning to dance since she was only five coming in handy, she was light on her feet as she dashed away from him.

"Bet ya can't catch me!" she giggled, turning her head to look over her shoulder to see him quickly closing up the distance between them. She _eeped_ and put on a burst of speed to keep the distance.

"You're betting against a Dragon Slayer!" Sting laughed, eating up the distance with ease. He pounced, tackling her to the ground, his chest against her back, pushing her face into the soft grass.

"Did you say _Dragon Slayer_?" Lucy whispered in disbelief, turning to look at him, both unbothered by how close their faces where to each other.

"Yeah, I'm the White Dragon Slayer," Sting boosted, pushing himself off of her and helping her up.

"I've only ever read about them before, that's soooo cool!" Lucy squealed bouncing around in circles, she stopped then threw her arms around his neck. "I can't believe I'm friends with a _Dragon Slayer_! Is it true that you've been raised by a dragon? Are dragons _real_? Can I meet one?!" Lucy's words became quick and the questions where pressed together leaving no room for him to answer.

"Yes! My father's name is Weisslogia, he's the Light Dragon, really strong and amazing, and yes, duh, dragons are real, are you stupid? And _yes_ you can meet him," Sting sighed, answering her questions, only able to get a word in because he slapped his hand over her mouth to shut her up.

Lucy looked rather offended as she pulled his hand away from her mouth, but it was quickly replaced with a grin, "Thank you, thank you, _thank you_!" Lucy cried, once again launching herself at him, her arms going around his neck in a chocking hold.

"Gah Blondie can't breathe!" he choked, trying to pull her arms away from around his neck.

"Eek! Sorry," Lucy whimpered pulling away and giving him an apologetic look, then it was quickly replaced with a look of excitement, "But I just can't help it, I'm going to see a _real life dragon_!" she squealed with happiness, and grabbed his hands to spin him around.

"Blimey, chill Blondie, it's not that big a deal," he chuckled, unbothered by her spinning, but he stopped her, and tightened his arms around her waist and then spun her around, her legs flying out behind her like she had done to her doll earlier.

"But it is Stingy-bee; I didn't even know dragons still existed," Lucy grinned and stumbled about once he let her go, then she focused back on him, "You said _father_?"

"Yeah, I… never knew my real parents, well, I don't remember, my father said he found me when I was about two years old, no other humans in sight," Sting bit his lip and looked away, suddenly unsure about sharing his personal information about himself.

"Oh I'm really sorry… but, how old are you?" she asked, tipping her head to the side to try and capture his eyes again.

"I'm eight, but I only started learning Dragon Slayer magic when I was about four," he tried to fight back his smirk as Lucy kept trying to make eye contact with him.

"Really?" A grin suddenly spread across her face and she grabbed his hands, "I'm older than you, I'm ten!" she exclaimed, and skipped a few steps away from him, even though only knowing him a few hours, she knew he would try a physical retaliation.

"Pft I bet I could still beat you up," he grinned, lunging forwards to try and capture her.

**~^x^~**

The next time they met was, once again, an accident.

One of Lucy's maids had taken her out for some 'fresh air', but Lucy knew it was just to keep her out of her father's way.

She was sitting on the grass, chatting happily to her two keys that where clutched to her chest and Michelle who was lying on the grass beside her. When she heard her name being called, at first she didn't know who it was, but after a minute she figured it out.

"Sting!" she cried out in excitement, scrambling to her feet and running to the line of trees that lined the little clearing she'd been in. She left her keys with Michelle, knowing they'd be safe together.

"Hey Blondie," he grinned, catching her with a huff as she jumped at him.

"Where have you been? I haven't seen you for _ages!" _she scolded him.

"It was only two weeks," he rolled his eyes, but he had missed her too, the first encounter had fascinated him, not only had it been the first time seeing another kid, but a _girl_ no less.

"It's still so looong," she moaned, falling limp in his arms with a dramatic sigh, closing her eyes.

"Ugh, you're so heavy, get up or I'll drop you," he threatened, she didn't move a muscle, so Sting stayed true to his words and dropped her, Lucy screamed shortly and scowled at him from the grass.

"Grr Sting!" she muttered, getting to her feet and running after him as he had moved away knowing her reaction perfectly.

"Chill!" he laughed, stopping and grabbing her shoulders, locking his elbows to keep her at arm's length.

"You're so horrible," she pouted, but she couldn't keep her mood up and she threw her arms around him, "But I missed yoooouu!" she exclaimed happily.

"Hey, you know I said I'd take you to see Weisslogia?" he said, teasing each word, she froze and pulled away slowly.

"Yes?" she tipped her head to the side, trying to contain her grin by biting her lip.

"Well, I told him, and you can go and see him today," he stepped away and covered his sensitive ears, readying himself for her scream. However it didn't come, instead, she just looked very pale and a goofy grin crossed her face.

"Let's go now!" she grabbed his skinny arm and pulled him into the trees. It took over all five minutes for Lucy to squeak and look at him through wide eyes.

"I forgot my keys!" she said, tears where shining in her eyes, and Sting began to panic.

"H-Hey, we can go back and get them," she attempted to reassure her.

"But what if someone's taken them!?" the tears where starting to well up, almost spilling over.

"Then I'll get them back!" he shouted, Lucy perked slightly and wiped away the tears and sniffing. Sting released a sigh, reassured she wouldn't start crying again, and started walking back the way the way they came, he laughed inwardly when he realised they'd been walking the wrong way anyway.

Once she'd received her keys, and handing Michelle back to the maid for safety (pushing Sting into a bush so she wouldn't see him), Sting took control, leading her the _right way_ to the cave he lived in, Lucy blushed in embarrassment when he told her that she had been going the wrong way.

When Sting smelt the tell-tale sent of his _home_, he whirled around and slapped his hands over her eyes, causing her to cry out in surprise.

"Sting! I can't see," she whined, attempting to remove his hands from her face.

"Duh, that's the point, now hush and trust me," Lucy shut her mouth and gripped onto Sting, completely relying on the boy she had only met once before.

"Just a few more steps," he whispered, one hand clamped over her eyes, the other on the small of her back keeping her steady. "Ok," he grinned and pulled away, immediately she looked up and her mouth dropped open in shock.

He was completely white, with beautiful, intimating, golden irises. His wings where tucked in, but she could see the feathery wings that she would later say belonged to an angel. He had two antlers protruding from the top of his head, which was tilted down so he could get a look at her properly. His underbelly was smooth, along with the rest of his body, which was compacted with thick scales and Lucy thought that nothing could penetrate them. His neck was covered with what seemed to be fur, thick and feathered, protecting what was, apart from his underside, was the most vulnerable part of him.

"Wow," she breathed, taking a step back and bumping into Sting, she gazed up at him in pure admiration and respect, not once ounce of fear in her eyes or posture.

"Blondie, meet my father, Weisslogia," Sting announced proudly, placing his hands on her shoulders to support her because it looked like she might faint from keeping in her excitement.

"Blondie eh? I see my son is bring in the females already," he rumbled, his deep voice would scare the usual child, but, Sting had grown up with the beast, and Lucy was just amazed.

"My names Lucy," she voiced, taking another step forward, a smile crossing her face as she gazed up at the dragon in awe.

"Pretty name for a pretty girl, even if you are quite small," he groused, lifting his front leg a guesting a long, sharp, black claw that glinted in the light that it caught, her way.

Lucy frowned and crossed her arms over her chest, "I may be small but I'm still older than Sting," she argued, Sting stared from Lucy to his dragon in amazement, she had only just met the beast and was already arguing with him. He had expected her to be at least a little bit scared, but no, she was just excited.

"Really? Well Sting, it's good to go for older, more experienced girls," he chuckled, lowering his head till he was level with both children.

"Dad!" Sting whined, his cheeks flushing in embarrassment.

"I'm only ten!" Lucy cried in horror, she may only be young, but she knew what the dragon was implying.

"Starting young eh?" he rumbled another laugh.

**~^x^~**

They met a few times after that, but soon he disappeared, and it wasn't until three months of being MIA that he appeared in her bedroom, much to her horror and shock. But it vanished when he saw his distraught expression, tears where streaming down his young face and blood stained his clothes.

He stumbled forwards and threw himself at her, burying his face into the crook of her neck, she winced as he cried into her ear, tears dripping onto her skin and wetting her shirt.

"S-Sting! What happened? Are you hurt?" she immediately wrapped her arms around him, in a vain attempt to comfort him.

He pulled away sharply, pain crossing his features and he broke down, his knees buckling underneath him as he gripped his hair tightly, a scream ripped its way through his chest, heart wrenching and her heart clenched in pain.

"Sting," she cried dropping down beside him and pulling his face up to meet hers.

"I killed him," he groaned tipping his head forwards in defeat; he clutched his sides as if in agony.

"Killed who? Sting, you're scaring me," she whispered, withdrawing her hands from him, fear shining in her eyes.

He looked at her though the blonde hair that had flopped over his eyes, "It's my fault," he groaned again, before curling himself up into a ball and resting his forehead on the pink carpet.

"Please tell me, who died? Sting _please_," she begged, crawling towards him, and placing a small hand on his back, he flinched under her touch but made no move to move away.

"Weisslogia," he screamed again, and Lucy froze… he couldn't… no, Sting couldn't mean his father…

"Sting, what happened to him?"

Sting shot up, grabbing her shoulders in a crushing grip and he leaned his head down till their noses where almost touching, his heavy breathing puffing against her face and she stiffened under him. "I killed him, I killed Weisslogia… my father," he whispered, tipping his head forwards till his forehead was resting against hers, his frantic eyes bore into hers and tears dropped onto her cheeks.

"No…" she breathed, her eyes widening in fright, she had only met the dragon three times, and in those short meetings, he had become more of a father to her than her own.

"He told me… he told me that I couldn't be a true Dragon Slayer until I slayed a dragon and washed my hands in his blood…" he muttered, his voice weak and sounding as if he might break again at any moment. "These hands…" he muttered, clenching his fingers even tighter into her skin, "I murdered with them…"

"Sting… no…" she reached up with shaky hands and placed them on his bloody cheeks.

"Kill me Lucy… I don't deserve to live…" he closed his eyes, still resting against her, comforted by her soft warm hands.

"Don't say that!" she snapped, "He asked you to kill him, it wasn't your fault," she pushed him away, angered.

"Lucy-"

"Don't _Lucy_ me Sting Eucliffe!" she yelled, her eyes where glazing over with unshed tears, and she sounded so much older than she really was, "You're not a murder; don't even begin to think like that! Who do you think you are? Coming to me after _three months_ of nothing, expecting me to answer your demands and kill you? You're my friend… what about me?" she whispered the last words, her strong tone fading as she bit her lip.

"…" he looked at her in shock, his distraught expression turned to sorrow and pain, "I'm sorry…" he murmured.

Lucy didn't say anything, instead looked away, and desperately tried to stop her waterworks.

"I'm leaving," he suddenly stated, Lucy whipped around, sniffing and standing up with him.

"When will I see you again?" she asked.

"You won't… I'm leaving here forever, I won't come back Lucy…" he looked up at her though his blonde hair, feeling pity for the older girl.

"Don't say that! Of course we'll see each other again! Even if it takes me years, and kills me, I promise I'll find you," she attempted to smile at him as she grabbed his clenched fist in her petite hands.

"Ok then… Lucy Heartfilia… When you find me, I promise I'll kiss you," he grinned toothily despite his previous mood, and Lucy flushed though her tears.

"Pinkey swear?" she whispered, releasing his hand and holding out her tiny pinkey.

"Pinkey swear," he agreed, wrapping his around her small digit and shaking their hands.

**~^x^~**

It took seven years after her promise with Sting for Lucy to finally gain her courage and run away. She packed light, keys, whip, Michelle some jewels and a change of clothes, and slipped out during the night.

Their promise was the only thing she thought about for those seven years; keeping her going, knowing she would keep it… she had to.

She wondered if he'd remembered her, their promise… if he was dying to see her again just like she was… she doubted it, from her experience, men didn't remember shit, especially since it had been _seven years_.

But… there was always a chance, besides they had _pinkey promised_…

Her other thought was that he had joined a guild. He was a strong mage, a _Dragon Slayer_ so there was high possibility of that happening, however finding which guild was another matter.

Her first thought was Fairy Tail.

After all, every time they met that would always pop up in her chatter with him, she told him how much she loved the guild, and how much she wanted to join them when she was older… so he might have gone there looking for her.

So she made it her ambition to find and join the best guild in all of Fiore.

But she made a stop in Hargeon, because she heard that the town was full of magic shops, so she could get more keys, become stronger and have an even higher chance of joining the guild she loved with all her heart.

Disappointment was quick to wash over her though when she found out that there was only _one_ blasted shop in the town, however she brightened slightly when she found a key she'd been looking for, for a while there, the gate to the little dog.

After a few minutes of walking away from the magic shop, fuming about the price for such a weak key, two girls pushed past her screaming about something. Lucy strained to hear though the high pitched noises they were making.

"Can you believe _Salamander_ is here?!" she cried to her friend who screamed in excitement as they rushed forwards.

"Salamander?" Lucy breathed, '_As in _the_ Salamander… in Fairy Tail?_' Lucy brightened considerably and followed at a run after the girls… if she could meet him, then he could get her into Fairy Tail.

However, disappointment once again flooded her when she saw it was just a phony, not the pink haired boy in the picture in her old book, yet she was still caught under his spell by accident, she let her guard down.

Then _he_ burst through the crowd, landing on his hands and knees right next to Lucy, and she froze, her heart literally stopped as she stared down at him with wide eyes and her mouth gaping.

She followed him after he got beat up twice by psycho fan girls, poor boy, and she helped him to his feet, a small blue cat stood by her feet, an amused smirk on his face.

They ended up in a restaurant, they boy stuffing his face at a hurried pace and food splattered everywhere.

"My names Lucy, by the way," she informed him, he took a pause in stuffing his face to look at her.

"Natsu, Natsu Dragneel," he told her, and Lucy's thoughts where confirmed, it was him, the boy she'd had a crush on ever since she was little, she was finally meeting him!

He grinned at her, at her heart immediately twisted in pain, it was _his_ smile, the toothily grin she'd fallen in love with thanks to Sting.

After that, she managed to get kidnapped by the fake Salamander, and was rescued by Natsu, who she found out had been abandoned by his dragon, Dragon Slayers didn't have very much luck with their parents… but at least Natsu had a chance to see _Igneel_ again.

Natsu also managed to destroy Hargeon Port along with the help of Aquarius, and dragged her away from the rune knights all the way to Fairy Tail, where she almost had a heart attack. She knew it was a boisterous guild, and great fun, but she didn't realise _quite_ what she was getting herself into, but she did get to meet her idol, Mirajane, flirted with the most well-known playboy; Loki, and asked by Gray Fullbuster to hand over her clothes.

She found herself feeling at home almost at once, Mira stamped her, everyone greeted her warmly and spoke to her as if they'd known each other their whole lives, she met her '_very best friend ever'_ Levy McGarden, went on a job with Natsu and finding herself as part of his and Happy's team all in just one week.

Then Erza came home, she'd heard about her; the _Tatiana_ and strongest female mage in Fairy Tail, and she found herself scared at first but ending up seeing the woman as her older sister.

Not long after she joined, Phantom Lord attacked and kidnapped Lucy.

This was when she found herself falling, _literally_, for Natsu. When she jumped out of the tower, she had heard him, the pink haired fire freak that had become her best friend, even more than Levy, and she knew, just _knew_, that he would catch her, he wouldn't let her crash.

He leaped for her, roaring out her name and caught her, even twisting his own body to collide with the broken wall so she wouldn't.

And it was right then, when he comforted her, that she knew she was in love with him.

**~^x^~**

She found herself growing closer and closer to him, but was afraid to tell him her feelings, in case he rejected her and then that would ruin their friendship that had grown so strong that most people around thought they were already dating.

But it all changed when Lisanna returned from the dead.

Natsu didn't dump her on the curb, but he began to spend more time with the youngest of the Strauss siblings. It was understandable, they had been childhood friends, he had known her long before Lucy ever came around, and according to the stories Mira told her about her little sister, she had been going to marry Natsu anyway…

Lucy didn't want to get between their friendship, but she felt rather jealous, but she didn't know what of, the two of them where only friends, and Lisanna didn't seem to be making any advances on the man, and it wasn't as if the girl was joining their team… but Lucy couldn't stop the itch she felt when she saw them together.

**~^x^~**

When Makarov announced the S-Class exams, Lucy didn't get her hopes up at getting picked and instead routed for Natsu, and when he was picked, she was ecstatic for him, and found it hilarious when he chose Happy as his partner.

She didn't expect to be picked as a partner either, but when she found Cana, she was worried and then when Cana told her, her secret, she just had to promise that she would help her win. She was, after all, still trying to fulfil a huge promise, so she knew if she could keep that, then she could keep this one to Cana.

But then Grimoire Heart attacked, and Zeref was there on the island, unknown to anyone until they came…

But… then Acnologia attacked… and she thought they were dead… that there was no hope…

Then Natsu was there, as always, he reached out a hand to her shaking form and roughly grabbed her hand, he told her not to worry, not to cry, that we would survive…

They all held hands, and Mavis cast Fairy Sphere to protect them from the attack.

The last thought that went through her head was Sting… how she could probably never see him again… how she'd failed in her promise…

**~^x^~**

She was woken up by Natsu… he was there, the first one she saw… they had survived, she struggled to sit up and threw her arms around his neck, crying raggedly into his vest, clutching at him. He only held her close, comforting her as always.

"I love you," she whispered, he stiffened, but then after a moment relaxed and drew her in tighter.

**~^x^~**

They came home, to those who had waited seven years for them beat the shit out of the guild that had bullied their family and cried when they realised that they were truly back and it wasn't just a dream.

Then Romeo mentioned the Grand Magic Games and prize money which grabbed Makarov's attention.

He named the members who would be participating, Lucy was immensely shocked to hear she'd been chosen, but when Natsu wrapped his arm around her shoulders and cheered, she perked up and went with it.

Unfortunately, they were the last team to make it through, but that didn't throw them off, no, it just made them all the more determined to win…

**~^x^~**

Sting stood out on Sabertooth's respected balcony; he was intrigued by the young blonde woman who was fighting the crazy red hair freak from Raven Tail. There was something about her that was drawing him to her, but he couldn't put a finger on it. He'd missed the announcement about her name, to interest in what Natsu was doing.

"Rogue, have you seen that blonde bimbo before?" he asked his partner who looked very uninterested as always.

"No," he replied, and turned away in a sulky manner, Sting sighed, he knew the only thing that he was interested in was Gajeel Redfox.

The blonde man returned his attention to the match, resting his chin on his hand; watching the fight intently.

The end result was grim, the blonde had lost… but Sting was more interested in the fact she had used Celestial Magic… just like… _her_…

He watched with slight interest as Natsu walked up to the blonde who was crying, curled up in a pitiful position. It was sad really, she couldn't even dragon herself away to save herself more shame

However, he listened to the encouraging words he spoke, and had to laugh in disbelief, they really believed they could win? Against Sabertooth?

But when he held his hand out for her, and the blonde reached up to take it, Sting's breath left him in a painful gasp. Her eyes! Those doe brown eyes wide and filled with tears. Only one person had eyes like that… _Lucy_… it was… _his_ Lucy, he had found her! Yet… she was looking at Natsu, the man he had looked up to and strived to be like… with those eyes, filled with trust, love and confidence, the way those eyes had once been directed at him… now she looked to Natsu for guidance and friendship... and love… had he lost his chance?

**~^x^~**

He looked so familiar… that blonde hair… those blue eyes… and the scars over his left eye. It can't have been a coincidence… yet… it can't possibly be… _him_.

She lost interest in him as Natsu began to bellow out those powerful words. Every single one of them was true; every heartfelt word hit her with realisation on how much their friends had really suffered.

She loved that man so much, and she just wanted to hug him, let him now that everyone's souls had been touched by those words. She wanted to be there for him, like she had failed to be for _him_, every fibre of her being just wanted to hold him and comfort him.

Then they fought again, Gajeel and Natsu against the twin Dragon Slayers, and every hit Natsu had taken seemed to hurt her, yet whenever the tables turned and the blonde man had been on the receiving end, it seemed to sab at her heart, like it knew something she didn't… but… no '_I can't be thinking of him , not now.'_

But the truth was undeniable; it was like somewhere in the deep corners of her mind, she knew it was him. Her heart thumped against her chest as she watched on the larima screen, Natsu deliver that final blow that had them on the floor and not getting up.

_Sting…_

'_My Sting'_ had returned, it was like they were bound together, their fate intertwined with each other's.

She watched as the arena rest itself, leaving Sting and Rogue laying for everyone to see.

Lucy gasped, and threw herself over the balcony edge, Natsu, Gray and Erza screamed my name, and Natsu lurched forwards, their fingers brushed together but he was a second too late. Erza and Gray grabbed him, stopping him from following Lucy down, and she heard him roar out in frustration.

She felt many, many eyes on her, as she landed with a thud and ran with all her might towards Sting. I had waited too long, it had been so long since she had held him close, since they had made that promise and she was _craving_ him.

She stumbled once or twice, but got straight back up again, the distance between them seemed to go on and on.

He was getting to his feet, helping up Rogue, and he must have heard her footsteps or rapidly beating heart because he turned, just as she leapt at him like she used to do all those years ago.

"Stingy-bee!" she cried, clinging to him, unable to hold him close enough.

"I thought I'd lost you…" he breathed, pressing his hands to her cheeks and bringing his face down to hers, resting his forehead against hers.

"I promised didn't I?" she laughed, brushing away the tears that where falling down her cheeks.

"And I promised when you did, I would kiss you," he murmured, closing the space between them and capturing her lips.

"Aw!" the huge crowd of people cooed, the sight of the reunited couple bringing happiness to them after the battle between the Dragon Slayers.

"_**Eh!**_" Fairy Tail shrieked, except Mira who was crouched in a corner rocking, whimpering about how her dreams of pink haired girls and blonde haired brown eyed boys was shattered, and then how Gajeel had stomped on it then roared it into oblivion.

Gajeel had a look of horror on his face as he questioned what he had done wrong as Elfman chased him screaming, "_It's not __**manly**__ to crush a woman's dreams!_"


End file.
